"Out of My Mind" by Sharon Draper
Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. Most people—her teachers and doctors included—don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write. Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind—that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.
"The Truth about Truman School" by Dori Hillestad Butler
They just wanted to tell the truth. When Zebby and Amr create the website thetruthabouttruman.com, they want it to be honest. They want it to be about the real Truman Middle School, to say things that the school newspaper would never say, and to give everyone a chance to say what they want to say, too. But given the chance, some people will say anything—anything to hurt someone else. And when rumors about one popular student escalate to cruel new levels, it's clear the truth about Truman School is more harrowing than anyone ever imagined.
"Chicken Joy on Redbean Road: a Abyou country romp" by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
When people danced to Joe Beebee's music they forgot about bad knees, tight shoes, backaches, blisters, and beetles . . . They forgot sickness, sadness, and sin. Joe Beebee's music, folks say, will take you up so high, your problems look small enough to stomp on. But, worries a plain brown hen, can it make a quiet rooster sing? Can it save her best friend from becoming Quiet Rooster Stew? Will Joe Beebee even play for chickens?
"Where Teddy Bears Come From" by Mark Burgess
In the middle of a deep, dark forest, all the creatures are fast asleep. Except for a little gray wolf who can't sleep a wink. But the little wolf knows just what he needs to get a good nights sleep: a teddy bear to cuddle, just like in his favorite story book. So the next morning little wolf sets off on an adventure to find a teddy bear. But exactly where do teddy bears come from? The little wolf asks the Wise Owl, but he doesn't know. He asks the Three Little Pigs, but they suggest he speak to Little Red Riding Hood. Finally, when he is very tired the little wolf stumbles upon a kindly man with a bright red suit and a long white beard who needs a helping hand. But good deeds never go unrewarded. So when the little wolf wakes up the next morning there is a soft, cuddly surprise at the foot of his bed...and the answer to his question.